1928 – 1935 HARD TIMES

Depression years

1928

Teachers’ federations begin lobbying for model individual contracts.

Average salaries are $1,703 for men and $1,155 for women. Through the Depression years, however, men teachers lose 38% of their salaries and women 55%.

1930

Without unions, teachers face hardships during the Depression. Boards threaten firings unless teachers accept pay cuts. Especially in rural areas, out-of-work teachers undercut each other for the chance to get a job.

Federations begin to establish programs to help individual teachers, such as counseling services, legal help, insurance plans, an unemployment exchange and a sick benefit fund.

1931

The government adopts the federations’ proposal for a model contract of employment and encourages school boards to use it.

The federations successfully lobby the government to pass An Act Respecting Disputes Between Teachers and Boards / The Boards of Reference Act, enabling teachers to challenge dismissals in court.

1935

The three major English teachers’ federations form the Ontario Teachers’ Council, later to become the Ontario Teachers’ Federation.